Tailored Web and Peer Email Cessation Counseling for College Smokers (RealU)

University of Michigan

Status: Completed

Conditions: Cigarette Smoking

Treatments: Behavioral: Tailored Web; Other: Untailored Web; Behavioral: Peer Coaching

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other; NIH

Identifiers

NCT01604525

R01HL089491

Details and patient eligibility

About

The RealU2 is a randomized controlled trial to determine the efficacy of an online health and wellness program for young adults with the addition of individualized peer health coaching.

Full description

The RealU addresses smoking in a young adult population of occasional and daily smokers.

Aim 1. To determine the efficacy of providing individually tailored smoking cessation messages as part of a general interest website for young adults.

Aim 2. To determine the efficacy of providing individually tailored smoking cessation messages plus peer email, phone and online support as part of a general interest website for young adults.

Participants were recruited via direct emails sent to undergraduate and graduate students at the University of MI as well as direct emails sent to participants from Survey Sampling International and National Data Group. Individuals were invited to complete an online survey about health and hope in young adults. Participants eligible for the full intervention were invited to join the RealU Study.

Participants were asked to complete an online enrollment survey and consent form. Eligible, enrolled participants were randomly assigned to one of the following three study arms:

• an untailored general interest/lifestyle website
• an individually tailored web intervention about health and lifestyle
• an individually tailored web intervention about health and lifestyle with coaching from peers, including video, phone, and email

Assessments were conducted at 7 weeks and 12 weeks post-enrollment. The primary outcome measure is self-reported 30-day abstinence at 12 weeks.

Enrollment: 1,699 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 35 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Age 18-35
• Able to read English
• Internet access for the next 3 months
• Self-reported internet use of more than once per week
• Smoked at least one puff of a cigarette in the past 30 days

Exclusion criteria

• Use of smokeless tobacco in the past 30 days

Trial design

Primary purpose: Prevention

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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1,699 participants in 3 patient groups

Control

Sham Comparator group

Description:

Participants randomized to this group received access to an untailored general interest/lifestyle website.

Treatment:

Other: Untailored Web

Tailored Health and Lifestyle Web

Experimental group

Description:

Participants randomized to this arm received tailored web content about health and wellness, with weekly goal-setting and feedback.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Tailored Web

Tailored Web plus Peer Coaching

Experimental group

Description:

Participants randomized to this arm received access to weekly tailored health and wellness web content, plus weekly feedback from a peer health coach (videos uploaded to the web and phone calls).

Treatment:

Behavioral: Peer Coaching

Behavioral: Tailored Web